Napoli – Inter Live Blog

By: Neil | January 25th, 2012

Napoli’s lineup is very uncertain. Some reports have Campagnaro being rested and Fernandez in, other have Hugo Boss starting. Other reports have Dzemaili in and Inler resting, and with Cavani and Lavezzi confirmed the third tenor will be one of Hamsik or Pandev. Zuniga looks certain to start in place of Dossena.
De Sanctis – Campagnaro/Fernandez, Cannavaro, Aronica – Maggio, Gargano, Inler/Dzemaili, Zuniga – Hamsik/Pandev, Lavezzi – Cavani

Inter is missing a whole bunch of players, but they have plenty of depth and their lineup is still very strong. Nagatomo, Stankovic, Diego Forlan, and Coutinho all have some kind of injury while Sully Muntari is at the ANC with Ghana. There are also reports that Lucio and Pazzini are being left out of the squad, but it’s not clear why… perhapds Ranieri is properly rotating his squad? Julio Cesar could also get some rest

Castellazzi – Maicon, Ranocchia, Cordoba, Chivu – Zanetti, Thiago Motta, Cambiasso, Alvarez – Sneijder, Milito

Other players for Ranieri to consider are Walter Samuel, Faraoni, John Mikel Obi, Andrea Poli, Mauro Zarate, and Luc Castaignos. It’s incredible how many good players Inter have and it makes their slow start to the Serie A season all the more shocking. Inter have 2 more Serie A losses than Napoli, but their winning streak has seen them climb back into the top 4 and they are more likely than Udinese and Lazio to join Juve and Milan in the title race.

Just like last season’s Coppa Italia quarter final, this match should be quite entertaining. Napoli want sporting revenge for last season’s Coppa elimination while Inter were slightly embarrassed 3-0 by Napoli back in October. Even if Inter rests players, they are playing to win every competition they enter and Ranieri has clearly sorted out some of the early season problems. But don’t count Napoli out. They have a habit of showing up in big games and surprising the opposing teams. Now that El Pocho is back there are no major absentees, and it’s a case of Mazzarri managing the team properly to get the best results. Mazzarri is running out of excuses; Napoli have a full and healthy lineup and although it’s a midweek game Inter played on the weekend too. And they actually won their game, a 2-1 decision over Lazio at the San Siro whereas Napoli stuggled to sneak a 1-1 draw at Siena.

I’m predicting that a calm and concentrated Napoli will show up and Inter will have quite a game on their hands. Look for a repeat of last season’s nailbiting Coppa encounter with no more than a goal separating the teams. And if it goes to extra time or a shootout, it’s anybody’s game. Actually I have to favour Inter in a shootout, but anything can happen.

Match will be shown live on ESPN3 but I can’t find any TV coverage in Canada: Fox Soccer is showing Carling Cup 2nd leg, Liverpool vs. Man City and I couldn’t find TV listings for RAI International. I’m actually off work today, so if you know how I can watch the game other than a choppy internet stream please let me know.

Napoli vs. Inter, Coppa Italia 1/4 final
Stadio San Paolo
25 gennaio 2012
20:45 CET, 19:45 UK/Ireland, 2:45 EST and 11:45 Pacific

Forza Napoli, and let’s hope we can survive in the Coppa to increase our Europa League chances